Valley Of Ghosts
by Galacticwolf
Summary: After learning that Morgana is still alive and searching for something called the Ring of Souls, Merlin, Arthur and the knights set out to get it before her, but in a land where the dead walk, can Merlin keep his secrets as old friends and foes return?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is the first story I've posted, as well as my first multi-chapter fic, so I apologize if it's terrible.

Disclaimer: This is fanfiction, so obviously I don't own it.

Arthur sighed as he waited for the members of the round table to arrive, it had barely been a month since they had retaken Camelot, and they were already facing a new threat from Morgana, they just couldn't seem to get a break. Seeing that everyone had finally arrived, Arthur began,

"As all of you are no doubt already aware, we've received word that Morgana is still alive and searching for something called The Ring of Souls" Looking around, Arthur noticed that Gaius had a thoughtful look on his face, and he was not the only one to notice it.

"Have you ever heard of it before, Gaius?" Leon asked,

"It sounds familiar," Gaius said, "but I'm not sure where from." He though for a moment, "Ah, yes, now I remember, it was mentioned in the book about the Cup of Life." He stood up, "Let me go get it"

Gaius returned a few minutes later with a large book which he set down with a loud thud. As he flipped through the pages, Merlin found himself wondering why fate seemed to hate them so much.

"Ah, here it is." Gaius said, shaking him from his thoughts, "The Ring of Souls," he read, "The Ring of Souls is an ancient magical artifact that can be found in the Valley of Ysbrydion, it allows the wearer to summon the spirits of the dead and control them." The room was silent as it's occupants realized just what that meant. It was Leon who finally broke the silence,

"If Morgana gets ahold of that ring, she could summon an army of ghosts to attack Camelot with."

Merlin couldn't help but groan,

"Why does it always have to be a magical army?" he asked no one in particular, "Why can't Morgana just use normal ary of human soliders, that are easy to kill?" Gwaine laughed,

"Because that would be too boring"

Arthur suddenly paled as he realized something,

"With all the magic users that my father killed, Morgana could easily create a huge army of Sorcerors."

It was Percival that asked the question they had all been wondering,

"How do you kill a ghost?"

Merlin noticed that Gaius shot him a glance before answering,

"To be honest, I don't know if you can. Magic could probably hold them off, at least for a while."

Arthur was clearly worried, and it was showing on his face,

"What about Excaliber?" He asked, " Do you think it would have any effect on them?" Gaius considered it,

" It might," he said, "however, you could hardly fight them all off by yourself."

Arthur slammed his fist on the table in frustration,

"What are we suppose to do!" For a moment nobody spoke,

"What if," Gwaine suggested finally, "We went to The Valley of Ysbrydion ourselves and got the ring, if we have then that means that Morgana doesn't." Everybody stared at Gwaine in shock,

"What?" he asked, Arthur shook his head in amazment,

"That," he said, "Is actually a good idea. Gwaine actually managed to come up with a good idea." Gwaine looked seriously offended, but before he could say anything Leon interrupted.

"There's just one problem, we don't know where The Valley of Ysbrydion is." Arthur turned to look a Gaius,

"Does it say anything about how to get to the valley in that book?" he asked, Gaius shook his head,

"I'm afraid that all it says is you have to go to the Lake of Avalon to get there." Arthur threw his hands in the are in frustration,

"Great, and just where is that?" Merlin answered without thinking,

"It's about half a days journey from here." There was silence, looking up, Merlin saw that everyone was staring at him.

_Ysbrydion-Ghosts_


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: Wow, I must say I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of reviews I have gotten so far. As thanks, I'm uploading the second chapter today. Oh, and just to answer a question I have gotten, yes, both Freya and Lancelot will be appearing in the story.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Merlin, at least, not yet. *evil laughter*

Everyone was staring at Merlin, and for a he didn't know why, that is, until Arthur spoke.

"Uh, Merlin? How do you know that?" Merlin cursed himself mentally, he'd completely forgotten that mortals weren't suppose to be able to find The Lake of Avalon by themselves, if he hadn't been following Sophie and her father then he would have never found it. Except, well, ever since he had survived the Dorcha's touch, he hadn't really be sure anymore that he counted as mortal. But it wasn't like he could tell Arthur that, and from the way that they were looking at him expectantly he knew that he had to tell them something, he settled on something close to the truth.

"I followed a Sihde there." He explained, though he left out the fact that there had been a tracking spell involved. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Gaius nodding as he realized the occasion that Merlin was referring to, it was obvious that Arthur still didn't quite understand, but he seemed to realize that they had more important things to worry about.

"Well then,' he said, "you can lead us there, and we will figure out what to do from there." Merlin widened his eyes innocently,

"I'd be careful sire, it might involve thinking, and we wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." Arthur glared at him as the knights laughed.

Once the laughter had died down, Elyan, who was wearing a frown spoke up,

"I'm sure I've heard of The Valley of Ysbrydion before, but I can't think where." Gaius looked up from where he was reading the book,

"It's very likely that you have, there are still people who tell stories of it, though most don't know that it's a real place." Arthur looked at him in surprise,

"You mean you've heard of it?" he asked, Gaius nodded,

"Yes, though it has been a long time, The Valley of Ysbrydion was a place of the Old Religion, though it hadn't been used for centuries, even before The Purge. Its name translates to Valley of Ghosts." Gwaine laughed, drinking from a flagon of mead that he had produced,

"Sounds like a lovely place." Gaius raised his eyebrow at him,

"It actually used to be a quite a popular place to go to." He told him

"Why would people want to go to a place called The Valley of the Ghosts?" Arthur asked,

"Because," Gaius informed them, "You could visit with the spirits of the dead."

There was a pause,

"Wait….what?" Arthur finally asked, seeing he would have to explain, Gaius settled into scholarly mode.

"The Valley of Ysbrydion is one of only a few places where the mortal world intersects with the spirit world, in places like these the ghosts of the dead can interact with the mortal world; people would flock there to visit their departed loved ones." He paused, letting them think about this, "the only problem was that not all the ghosts were benevolent, some of them, usually the ghosts of tyrants and other evildoers would try to take advantage of it and cause harm." Arthur frowned,

"If they could harm people, then how it was safe for people to go there?" he asked, Gaius gave him a look,

"I was just getting there, be patient." Merlin struggled to smother a laugh,

"Controlling the ghosts was the reason that the Ring of Souls was created, the ghosts could not disobey the wearer, so all that had to be done, was order them not to harm anyone."

"So why did people stop going there?" Gwaine asked, Gaius's eyes grew sad,

"There was a huge plague one year, nearly all of those who had been appointed as the valley's guardians died, there weren't enough left to keep it safe." Arthur looked at him curiously,

"Who were they?" Gaius met Merlin's eyes as he answered,

"The Dragonlords."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **To everyone who has reviewed so far, I would just like to say thank you, it really helps motivate me to write when I know that there are people looking forward to the next chapter. I also want to let you know that updates may be slow for a little while, since my math teacher hates me and has given my class a huge review packet for the end of year test, I am going to try to update at least every other day, but I don't know how successful I will be. Now I'm sure you're tired of me talking so let's get to the story.

**Disclaimer: **

**Me: **Do I really have to say it?

**Arthur: **Yes, do it now or I'll throw you in the stocks.

**Me: **You wouldn't

**Arthur: **Guards!

**Me: **Okay, okay, *sigh* I don't own Merlin. I hope you're happy Arthur, *sobs in the corner*

Merlin stared at Gaius in shock, his expression mirrored on the faces of the others.

"The Dragonlords," Arthur repeated, his voice disbelieving, "Why were the Dragonlords the guardians?" Gaius frowned slightly, "No one really knows any details, but it's said that the Dragonlords had power over the spirits of the dead." Merlin's eyebrows shot up in surprise that was news to him. He would be having a chat with a certain dragon sometime soon.

"Too bad there aren't any Dragonlords left," Gwaine remarked, causing Merlin to shift guiltily in his seat, "They would have been a big help, with this quest." Arthur sighed,

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious Gwaine," Gwaine grinned,

"You're welcome Princess." He said, "Or would that be Queen now?" Arthur just rolled his eyes, and continued, ignoring Gwaine.

"Now, we can't afford to waste any time" he told the knights, "we will leave for the Lake of Avalon tomorrow, so I want you all to be ready by then." He looked at his manservant, "That includes you Merlin." Glancing around to make sure everyone understood, he nodded, "Alright then, we're done." As he left the council room, Merlin sighed, somehow, he knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.

**Author's Note: **I know that this chapter was rather short, but I needed to have them finish with the meeting before I moved on. The next chapter will be longer I promise. Also I have a favor to ask of you, when you review please let me know who you would like to return as a ghost. I already know for certain that Lancelot and Freya will be, but I want to know who else you think should. Thanks


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **As a reward for all those who have reviewed you guys get another chapter today. So far I've gotten lots of suggestions on who should come back as a ghost, I'm going to try to use as many of them as I can. If you have anymore then let me know.

**Disclaimer: **While I'm flattered that you think I own Merlin, it's not true.

Night had already fallen by the time that Merlin finished packing for both him and Arthur, all he wanted to do was collapse on his bed, he was so exhausted, however before he could even consider sleep he needed to talk to Kilgharrah.

He easily snuck past the guards at the gate while they investigate a noise that had conveniently come from a nearby alley, really, he would need to talk to Arthur about his security. Making his way to a clearing in the woods, Merlin called out

"_O drakon, e mala soi ftengometh tesd'hup anankes! Erkheo" _For a moment there was silence, but then the flapping of wings filled the air as Kilgharrah arrived. The dragon landed gracefully despite his large size, turning his golden gaze on Merlin he spoke,

"Ah, young warlock, I do hope you are not here to ask me to take you somewhere, I am not a horse." Merlin smiled,

"No, old friend, I'm here for information, have you ever heard of the Ring of Souls?" he asked,

"Now where did you here about that? The Ring of Souls is almost as old as I am."

"Morgana is after it," Merlin explained, "Arthur has decided that we are going to go get it before she can." The dragon's eyes narrowed,

"The witch must not get her hands on that ring, she could cause destruction greater then you can imagine with its power." He warned.

"Don't worry," Merlin reassured him, "I have no intention of letting her get it. What can you tell me about it though, I know that it's in the Valley of Ysbrydion, and that we have to go to the Lake of Avalon to get there, but all we know about the ring itself is that it can be used to summon and control ghosts." Kilgharrah sighed,

"The Ring of Souls was created by the Dragonlord Kurthnaga, one of the powers of Dragonlords is that they can communicate and control spirits, however, how much they can control them depended on how powerful they were. As it wasn't often that Dragonlords were born that were strong enough to control the more powerful ghosts, Kurthnaga, who was one of the most powerful Dragonlords, forged the ring and imbued it with his power. Though this now made it so that the spirits could be controlled even when there wasn't a powerful Dragonlord, it also cost Kurthnaga his life." Merlin interrupted him,

"Wait, why did it cost him his life?"

"In order to imbue the ring with his powers, Kurthnaga had to pour his life force into it, once his life force was gone, he died." Merlin frowned,

"So wait, if Kurthnaga put his powers into the ring, does that mean that whoever wears it will have access to all the powers of a Dragonlord?"

"Thankfully no," Kilgharrah assured him, "Kurthnaga knew that the ring would be dangerous enough with just the power to control ghosts, so he made sure that no other powers went into it. The wearer is only able to summon and control ghosts, nothing else." Kilgharrah stood, "If that is all Merlin, I must be going; I wish you luck on your quest." With a nod to the warlock, the dragon took off. Merlin glanced at the sky as he started back towards the castle, maybe if he was lucky he would get a few hours of sleep.

**Author's Note: **Next chapter the quest starts.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Wow, yet another chapter today, that's three chapters in one day. Don't you guys feel special? Well enough of me talking, let's get to the story.

**Disclaimer: **Nope, I still don't own Merlin, but I've asked for it for my birthday.

As it turned out, Merlin didn't manage to get any sleep, as soon as he got back to Gaius's chambers, the physician made him tell him everything that the dragon had said, and by the time he had finished it was already morning. Now as he sat on his horse waiting for Arthur to finish saying goodbye to Gwen so that they could leave, he hoped that he wouldn't fall asleep while they were riding, knowing his luck he would fall off of the horse. Finally, Arthur finished his goodbyes and mounted his horse,

"Alright, let's go," he said, "Merlin, since you know the way, you're leading." Merlin sighed as they started off, he had forgotten that he was the only one who knew the way to the Lake of Avalon, he would have to make sure to stay awake. As he rode he though about what Gaius had said about the Valley of Ysbrydion, that you could communicate with the dead there. There were so many people that he would love to see, Freya, Will, his father, Lancelot, there was a part of him that was looking forward to getting there. At the same time, he was also rather worried; there were plenty of people that he had no desire to ever see again, people he had killed. He was shaken from his thoughts by something hitting the back of his head; he turned around to see Gwaine preparing to throw another acorn at him. He glared at him,

"What was that for?" he demanded, Gwaine gave him a look of pure innocence,

"What? I didn't do anything, it was Percival." He said, pointing at the other knight. Merlin gave him an eyebrow raise that would have made Gaius proud,

"Oh, really." Gwaine nodded,

"Yes, really." Behind Gwaine, Merlin saw Arthur roll his eyes,

"Really, Gwaine, you're so childish sometimes." The King said, the knight just shrugged his shoulders,

"What can I say, I'm bored, and Merlin was being so quiet that I thought he might have fallen asleep." Merlin glared at him again,

"I was thinking Gwaine, you might try it sometime." The other knights laughed at the wounded expression on Gwaine's face.

"What were you thinking about, Merlin?" Arthur asked,

"Well, Gaius said that people went to the Valley of Ysbrydion to talk to spirits of the dead, I was wondering if we might see Lancelot."

"You're right, he did," Gwaine said, "Maybe we will see Lancelot." The knights were quiet as they all thought about people they had lost that they might get to see again, the peaceful silence was soon broken however, as Gwaine started humming a song that he had obviously learned in a tavern.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Sorry that it has taken me longer to update then usual, I just got a new Fire Emblem game and have been busy playing it. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: **No, I still do not own Merlin; I'm too busy plotting to take over the world, to negotiate for the rights to it.

Merlin was relieved when they finally reached the lake; he didn't think he could take anymore of Gwaine's singing.

"We're not going to sit in silence; we're not going to live in…." Gwaine trailed off as he entered the lakeside clearing and gazed around in wonder. Merlin couldn't blame him, it didn't matter how many times he came here, he was always amazed at how beautiful it was. The sunlight reflecting in the serene waters of the lake, mixed with the sweet sounds of birdsong to give it an aura of peace. Merlin glanced over his shoulder as he dismounted and grinned, the knights were still on their horses, their mouths hanging open as they stared around them. He shook his head and walked towards the lake's edge, leaving them to take it all in. He sat down on a dead log to wait for Freya, because somehow, he just knew that she would be here.

A few minutes later the others joined him, sitting down beside him, Arthur glanced up at the sky,

"It will be dark soon," he said, "We'll camp here tonight, in the morning we can figure out what to do next." The knights nodded in agreement and began setting up camp, Arthur turned to Merlin,

"Any idea what we need to do next?" he asked him. Merlin shook his head,

"I don't know," he admitted, "But," he continued, "I have a feeling that everything is going to work out just fine." Arthur gave him a strange look,

"Just what does that mean?" he asked, before Merlin could answer him a voice interrupted them,

"You're late, what did you do, stop to sightsee?" Arthur jumped up and drew his sword, while the knights did the same, Merlin, however, just smiled,

"Hello Freya"

**Author's Note: **Yeah, I know that this chapter is really short, I apologize for that, but the part that comes next doesn't really work well in the same chapter. The next part will be up as soon as I finish it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **I had originally planned for this chapter to be longer, but since I left you with a cliffhanger yesterday, I decided I would go ahead and post it. So, I'm sorry that it's so short; the next chapter should be longer.

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own it

"_Hello Freya"_

Arthur whirled around to stare at his manservant, had he really just heard him greet the girl, who had appeared out of nowhere, by name. Judging by the huge grin on Merlin's face, he had. Arthur turned to the girl,

"Who are you?" he asked, "and," he said, turning back to Merlin, "How do you know her?"

"My name is Freya," the girl told him, "As for how Merlin knows me, I'm kind of his girlfriend." Arthur stared at her,

"She is way out of your league." He heard Gwaine whisper to Merlin,

"His girlfriend," Arthur repeated in disbelief, "Merlin has a girlfriend."

"What's so surprising about that?" Merlin demanded, they all looked at him,

"Merlin," Gwaine said, "We were beginning to wonder if you were gay, you never look at girls, though," he said, looking at Freya, "With a girlfriend like that I can't blame you." Merlin glared at the knight,

"Don't you even think about flirting with her." He warned, Gwaine seemed like he was about to reply when Arthur interrupted,

"Merlin?" he asked, "Why is your girlfriend here?" Merlin smiled,

"To show us how to get to the Valley of Ysbrydion," he said, Merlin looked at Freya, "My only question is how you knew to be here, and don't try to tell me it was luck."

"No, it wasn't luck," Freya admitted, "Kilgharrah told me."

"What! He just flat out told you, he didn't talk to you in riddles?" Freya gave him a smile,

"I have an agreement with Kilgharrah, he doesn't talk to me in riddles, and I occasionally watch Aithusa for him."

"Hey, wait a minute," interrupted Arthur, "How do you know how to get to the valley?" The smiles fell from Merlin and Freya's faces,

"Because," Freya explained sadly, "I'm dead."

**Author's Note: **See the button down below that says review, go ahead and click it and let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, jokes, plots to take over the world….


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **Yeah, another chapter, I wonder if that fact that I'm writing this instead of doing homework has anything to do with my bad grades. Nah, I doubt it.

**Disclaimer: **Nope, I don't own it.

An awkward silence greeted Freya's admission that she was dead, no one really knew what to say, it wasn't like they talked to dead people everyday. Merlin finally broke the silence,

"Freya" he said, "Couldn't you have been a little bit less blunt?" Freya gave him a look,

"Have you ever tried telling someone that you're dead?" she asked, "It's kind of hard not to be blunt." Merlin looked a little sheepish,

"I guess you're right." He admitted, Freya grinned at him,

"Of course I am, I'm always right."

"Hey!" Arthur called, "If you don't mind, could you save the flirting for later and explain some things to us." Merlin and Freya looked at each other and sighed,

"What is it you want to know?" Freya asked Arthur,

"Well," Arthur said, thinking for a moment, "To start with, if you're dead, how come we can see you?" Freya sighed,

"It's rather hard to explain, but basically, I'm bound to the Lake of Avalon, and its magic makes it so I can interact with you.. Next question"

"Have you ever actually been in the Valley of Ysbrydion?" Leon asked, "Is there anything that you can tell us about it?"

"I've been into the valley plenty of times," Freya told them, "It's where I spend most of my time. If anyone ever tells you that being dead is fun, they're lying, it's really boring." She thought for a moment, "The only thing I can really tell you it is that you need to be very careful, while you're in the Valley, the dead can cause you just as much harm as when they were alive, and since they don't have to worry about being killed, they have much more freedom." She smiled, "of course, they don't know about Excalibur, I assume you were smart enough to bring it?" Arthur pulled the sword out of its sheath and showed it to her, Freya nodded, "Good, you'll probably need it. Now, one last thing that I forgot to mention, besides Excalibur and magic, there is one other thing that can harm ghosts,"

"What is that?" Arthur asked,

"Other ghosts," Freya told him, "So it might be beneficial to see if you can find friends of yours who have passed on, they'll be able to help you." She looked up at the sky, "It's almost dark, it would be wise for you to get some sleep, you have a huge task ahead of you tomorrow," She grabbed Merlin's hand, "We have some catching up to do before you get to sleep."

***********************************Merlin*******************************

As the others set up camp, Merlin and Freya moved a short distance away so that they could talk, Merlin quickly glanced around, before whispering,

"_Áhýdan sé mótung dierne" _he nodded to Freya, "okay, nobody will overhear us now."

"Merlin," Freya warned, "you need to be very careful tomorrow, you have plenty of enemies among the dead, and most of them know your secret."

"I know," Merlin sighed, "I'm not sure that Arthur is ready to know about my magic or that I'm a Dragonlord, just yet, but I'm afraid that I may have to reveal if things get bad." Freya laid her hand on his cheek,

"Don't worry Merlin, he may be upset at first, but I know he'll forgive you, he's your friend." Merlin smiled at her,

"You're right, but then again, you usually are." He pulled her close to him, "Will you be coming with us tomorrow?" Freya grinned at him,

"Just you try and stop me."

_Áhýdan sé mótung dierne- _hide/keep the conversation secret


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: ** This chapter is rather short, I know, but the next one should be much longer.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it

Merlin and Freya were the first of the group to wake up, followed shortly thereafter by Gwaine. As for the rest of the camp, they were soon woken up by Gwaine's singing,

"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna…..Ow!" he was quickly silence by Elyan, who threw a boot at his head. While Elyan chased Gwaine around the lake it an attempt to get his boot back, the rest of them cleared up the camp. Once they had finished (and Elyan had gotten his boot back) Freya stood up,

"Is everyone ready to go?" she asked, Arthur looked around at his knights, who nodded,

"Yes, we're ready." He told her,

"Good" said Freya; she walked to the edge of the lake, holding her hand above the water she called,

"_Bát onýwan æt oferferian ús oferfæreld"_ A boat rose out of the water at her command, she turned around to see Arthur and the knights staring at her,

"You used magic!" Arthur accused, Freya sighed,

"Yes, I used magic, how else do expect to get to the valley?" Arthur glared at her,

"Magic is evil!" Freya rolled her eyes in annoyance,

"Is a sword evil?" she asked, Arthur stared at her in confusion,

"Huh? A sword? What does that have to do with anything?" Freya rubbed her forehead,

"Just answer the question, is a sword evil?"

"Of course not, it's just a tool!" Arthur scoffed,

"But people sometimes use it to do evil things," Freya pointed out, "So doesn't that make it evil?"

"No, it's the person who's using it that's evil; anyway, people use swords to do good, as well." Freya smiled,

"Exactly," she said, "how is magic any different?"

"What?" Arthur had no clue what she meant,

"Just like a sword," Freya explained, "magic is neither good nor evil, it all depends on the user, some people use magic to do evil things, while others use it to do good. Saying that all people who use magic are evil is as ridiculous as me saying that all people who use swords are evil." Arthur was silent; he hadn't ever thought of it like that, Freya walked towards the boat,

"Now, as much as I would love to keep chatting, I believe that we have someplace we need to be."

_Bát onýwan æt oferferian ús oferfæreld -Boat appear to carry us across_


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: **I hate geometry, it takes away from my fanfiction time.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it

Gwaine stared at the boat nervously,

"Are you sure that will be able to carry us all?" he asked, not for the first time. Freya glared at him,

"Yes, I'm sure!" she snapped, "now get in there" she pointed to the boat, where everybody else was waiting, "or," she threatened, "We'll leave you behind." Gwaine thought for a moment,

"Fine," he sighed, "but if we drown, I am never speaking to you again." Freya ignored him,

"Okay, is everybody ready?" she asked, seeing that everybody was, she climbed in to the boat, holding her hand over the water she whispered,

"_gerecan" _ slowly the boat began to move through the water towards the far shore,

"How long will it take us to get there?" Leon asked, Freya sat down next to Merlin and rested her head on his shoulder,

"A couple of hours." She said, Arthur looked at her in surprise,

"That long? Can't we go any faster?" Freya glared at him,

"You rush a miracle worker, you get lousy miracles." She told him

**-Ten Minutes Later- **

"No, Gwaine," Merlin said, "We are not there yet."

"Oh, okay….. How about now, are we there yet?"

"No."

"How about…"

"No Gwaine! We are not there yet!" Merlin yelled, Arthur looked at Freya,

"I don't suppose there's anything you can do to shut him up?" he asked, Freya looked at him curiously,

"I thought you believed magic was evil?" Arthur shrugged,

"So did I, but I'm not really sure anymore." He smiled, "Besides, anything that keeps Gwaine quiet can't be totally bad." Freya thought for a moment,

"I know a spell that might work," she said, "Would you like me to try it?" Arthur considered it,

"Go ahead." He said finally,

"_ádumbian Gwaine" _she whispered, Arthur and her watched as Gwaine opened his mouth to speak, and no sound came out.

"Thank goodness," Merlin sighed, "I was about ready to kill him." Arthur laughed,

"Merlin," he said, "Somehow I doubt you could kill anyone." For a moment it seemed that Merlin flinched, but he was sure he must have imagined it. Soon the gentle rocking of the boat and the peace and quiet lulled him to sleep.

It felt like he had just barely closed his eyes when Arthur was shaken awake by Leon,

"Sire," he said, "Freya says that we're almost to the valley."

"Thank you, Leon." Arthur said, looking around, the trees surrounding them had thinned out and the air was filled with a gray mist. As he watched they passed between two giant dragons carved of stone. The boat came to a stop on the far shore, and they climbed out.

"Any idea as to where we should go next, Sire?" Leon asked, before Arthur could answer him, they heard a familiar voice to the right of them,

"Geez, they let anyone in here these days." Merlin turned to look and a huge smile broke out on his face,

"Lancelot!" he called, and sure enough, he stepped out of the mist,

"Did you miss me?"\

_Gerecan- move_

_ádumbian Gwaine- mute Gwaine_

**Author's Note: **Yeah, I know I'm evil ending the chapter like that, but nobodies a saint.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **First of all, I feel I should let you guys know that updates will be scarce this week, because I got grounded for the week because I stayed home from school since I didn't sleep well, (and yet my college age sister who stays home a lot never gets grounded) so the only time I have to write and post is when I'm suppose to be doing homework. Second, the following is a list of who I know for sure will be appearing as ghosts in the story; I haven't included people, who have already appeared,

Nimueh

Balinor

Will

Percival's family

Morgause

Agraviane

There is also the possibility I might have some OC sorcerers that Uther killed appear.

**Disclaimer: **I don't currently own Merlin, but once I take over the world that won't matter.

"Lancelot!" Gwaine cried, "Is that really you?" Lancelot couldn't help but smile at how excited Gwaine sounded,

"Yes, it's me." A thought struck him and he frowned, "What are you guys doing here? You're not dead, are you?" As happy as he was to see them, he really didn't want them to be dead.

"Don't worry Lancelot," Arthur told him, "All of us are alive."

"Umm, hello," a female voice said, and he noticed the girl standing next to Merlin for the first time, "Aren't you forgetting someone?" Lancelot stared at her curiously,

"Who are you?" he asked,

"My name is Freya."

"She's Merlin's girlfriend!" Gwaine blurted out, earning him a glare from both Merlin and Freya. Lancelot's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, though he didn't find it unbelievable that Merlin had a girlfriend. He wondered if she knew about Merlin's magic.

"My apologizes," Arthur told Freya, he turned to Lancelot, "Freya here, is a ghost." Now that surprised Lancelot, but then again, this was Merlin they were talking about, since when had he been normal.

"I'm actually a Guardian Spirit, not a ghost." Freya corrected Arthur, Lancelot stared at her in amazement, he had heard tales of Guardian Spirits from other ghosts, apparently they were extremely powerful as they were usually bound to a magical place, which they protected.

"What are you a guardian of?" he asked,

"The Lake Of Avalon." Lancelot's jaw dropped,

"Are you serious? You're the Lady of the Lake?" Freya shrugged, "That is one of my names."

"Wait," said Arthur, "You've heard of her?" Lancelot nodded,

"Yeah, just recently some of the other ghosts were talking about her and how she'd finally come, she's suppose to be extremely powerful." Everyone turned and stared at Freya,

"Hey, don't look at me," she said, "its Merlin's fault."

"What! How is it my fault?" Merlin asked,

"You're the one who buried me in the Lake of Avalon." She told him,

"Wait? Merlin buried you? You mean you met while you were still alive?" Arthur asked,

"Of course, I've only been dead about four years."

"How did you die?" Gwaine asked,

"I don't talk about it." Freya said stiffly, and Lancelot could have sworn he saw her shoot a glare at Arthur, but that made no sense, it was Gwaine who had asked the question.

"Now," said Freya, "As much fun as this reunion is, we need to get going." That reminded Lancelot of a question he had,

"Why are you guys here anyway?" Merlin sighed,

"It's kind of a long story, why don't you come with us and I'll explain it on the way."


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: **Sorry that I haven't updated sooner, I haven't gotten much sleep the past few days so I've been too tired to do any writing. This chapter is really short, but I'm still too tired to spend much time writing.

**Disclaimer: **Nope, I don't own it.

As they walked, Merlin told Lancelot about the quest that they were on,

"This Ring of Souls," said Lancelot, interrupting Merlin, "what exactly is it? Why does Morgana want it?"

"The Ring of Souls," Merlin explained, "Is a powerful magic artifact that allows the wearer to summon and control spirits of the dead." Lancelot's eyes widened as he realized why Morgana would want it,

"She's planning to create an army of ghosts!" Merlin nodded,

"Which is why we need to make sure that she doesn't get it." Said Leon, who had been listening to their conversation,

"So, do we know where the ring is?" asked Lancelot, Leon shook his head,

"No, we have no idea; all we know is that it's in this valley." Lancelot frowned,

"So then, how are we supposed to find it?"

"We'll employ a strategic search pattern." Arthur, who was ahead of them called back,

"He means that we're going to wander around and hope we get lucky." Merlin told Lancelot,

"I heard that Merlin." Said Arthur, Merlin grinned,

"I don't hear you denying it though." Arthur turned and glared at him,

"Merlin, if you don't shut up then I will…" before he could finish his threat, Freya and Percival who had been scouting up ahead burst through the trees,

"We need to get off of the path!" Freya gasped, struggling to catch her breath, "the ghosts of some angry sorcerers are coming this way!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: **I apologize for taking so long to update, I do have a valid excuse, you see I had a lot of schoolwork and so I was planning on waiting until Spring Break to write, but then just before Spring Break started I ended up catching Strep Throat and being confined to bed. But I'm better now so you guys get an update.

I'd also like to say thanks to **Matsukaze Tenma **and **mackwriter **for their kind words and encouragement.

**Disclaimer: **Haven't we gone over this before? I don't own Merlin.

After putting a reasonable distance between themselves and the path, and checking that they weren't being followed, the group stopped for a break. Gwaine sat down against a tree to rest,

"What I don't understand," he said, "is how they knew we were here."

"Well," Lancelot pointed out, "we're not exactly inconspicuous." Leon frowned,

"What do you mean by that?"

"This is the Valley of Ghosts," Lancelot explained, "and you guys aren't exactly ghosts, which means you stand out." He paused, letting his words sink in.

"Go on" prompted Gwaine,

"Ghosts are worse gossipers then Gwaine when he's drunk, all it would take is one person to see you and everybody would know."

"That could be it," Arthur agreed, "Or," he turned to glare accusingly at Freya, "Somebody could have told them." Merlin stood up,

"What are you saying?" he asked angrily,

"He thinks that I told them." Freya said, glaring back at Arthur, "which I most certainly did not."

"Then why do you look so scared?" Merlin glanced at Freya, Arthur was right, she did look rather scared.

"What's the matter Freya?" Freya turned to face him, her eyes wide with fear,

"She was with them."

**Author's Note: **Yes, I know it's short, and that it's a cliffhanger, but I didn't have much time to spare for writing and the cliffhanger was too good to resist, so please put down the sharp objects. Now, I need to ask you guys something, it's end of year testing at school for me and that means that I won't have much time to write, so there are two options, I can either write short chapters and update once a week, or I can write a long chapter, but it could be up to a month before I update. Please let me know which you would prefer by either reviewing or emailing me at 


	14. Author's Note

**Author's note: **

That's right, it's the dreaded author's note, but don't worry, I'm not here to tell you that I'm discontinuing this fic, I am going to finish it. However, I don't really use this account anymore so I will be rewriting some of the chapters and posting them on my new account **Weatherprooftradgedy. **The first chapter should hopefully be up by tomorrow.


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